GEOLOGY 12 CHAPTER 8 WS #3 GEOLOGIC TIME & THE FOSSIL RECORD NAME Multiple Choice 1. Fossils are most commonly found in A. sedimentary rocks. B. metamorphic rocks. C. igneous rocks. D. all kinds of rocks. 2. The actual removal of the original hard parts of an organism by the dissolving action of ground water, followed by deposition of mineral matter in their place is A. substitution. B. distillation. C. mummification. D. replacement. 3. Fossil excreta which give clues to the diet of ancient animals are called A. gastroliths. B. coprolites. C. borings. D. artifacts. 4. Which of the following statements about fossils is least acceptable? A. Fossils are natural resources. B. Fossils help correlate strata. C. Fossils plot ancient geography and climate. D. Fossils prove evolution beyond any doubt. 5. Earliest fossil plants are A. ferns. B. flowering plants. C. calamites. D. stromatolites. 6. By far the greatest number of fossils are those of A. shallow-water marine animals. B. deep-sea animals. C. land plants and animals. D. fresh-water plants and animals. 7. A geologic time poor in fossils but rich in minerals is the A. Cambrian B. Devonian C. Precambrian D. Cretaceous
8. Petrifaction of organisms is accomplished by all these processes except A. permineralization. B. mummification. C. replacement. D. carbonization. 9. During the Cenozoic time, which of the following did not exist? A. trilobites B. eohippus C. foraminifera D. elephants 10. The fossil record of marine protozoa in the Cambrian era is poor. This is probably because A. they did not exist. B. they were very rare. C. they lacked hard parts necessary for preservation. D. they exist, but haven t been found. 11. At least half of all Cambrian fossils are A. corals. B. brachiopods. C. sponges. D. trilobites. 12. A time in the earth s history when the earth s atmosphere probably did not contain oxygen was the A. Archeozoic era. B. Paleozoic Era. C. Triassic Period. D. Mesozoic Era. 13. A mountain range that began to form at the close of the Mesozoic Era is the A. Appalachians. B. Catskills. C. Rockies. D. Adirondacks. 14. Archeopteryx was the prototype of the A. reptile. B. amphibian. C. bird. D. fish. 15. Which of the following became extinct at the close of the Cretaceous period? A. dinosaurs B. trilobites C. camels D. birds 2
16. Measurements of radioactivity in rocks places the age of the earth in the A. millions of years B. billions of years C. thousands of years D. hundreds of years 17. Which of the following was a period of glaciation for the southern continents? A. Cambrian B. Pennsylvanian C. Ordovician D. Permian 18. Most of our great coal deposits were formed during the A. Eocene B. Pennsylvanian C. Triassic D. Jurassic 19. Which of the following would be least likely to form a fossil? A. brachiopod B. leaf C. turtle D. garden slug 20. Fossils would be useful in the discovery of A. water. B. oil. C. gold. D. uranium. 21. In North America and Europe four glacial periods occurred during the A. Pleistocene B. Pennsylvanian C. Ordovician D. Silurian 22. The Cenozoic Era is called the A. Age of Invertebrates. B. Age of Reptiles. C. Age of Fishes. D. Age of Mammals. 23. Which of the following had not evolved by the end of the Paleozoic? A. reptiles B. mammals C. amphibians D. fish 3
24. The lobe-finned fish was probably A. an ancestor to the amphibians B. a primitive type of invertebrate C. a descendent of the trilobite D. a vertebrate restricted to the Ordovician 25. During which period did the first land plants probably appear? A. Silurian B. Cambrian C. Mississippian D. Pliocene 26. The period of great extinction refers to the A. Silurian B. Cambrian C. Permian D. Recent 27. A Permian reptile thought to be the link between reptiles and mammals was the A. dinosaur B. therapsid C. neuropteris D. eurypterid 28. Because of their rapid evolution and sudden disappearance during the Mesozoic, an excellent index fossil of this period was the A. trilobite B. gastropod C. belemnites D. crinoid 29. Gondwanaland is the name given to a A. dinosaur B. land plant C. Devonian fish D. Permian continent 30. The rapid development of mammals at the end of the Cretaceous is partly accounted for by the A. disappearance of fish B. spread of marine waters C. spread of flowering plants D. intense igneous activity 31. Unaltered fossils may be preserved by all these methods except A. freezing B. preservation in amber C. preservation in volcanic ash D. petrification 4
32. A 19 th century Englishman recognized the value of index fossils as a means of identifying and correlating rock strata was A. William Smith B. Archbishop Ussher C. Francis Bacon D. G.V. Brocchi 33. The last complete epoch of the Cenozoic is the A. Holocene B. Pleistocene C. Pliocene D. Paleocene 34. Frozen tundra offers a suitable environment for fossil preservation because it is A. not inhabited by scavengers B. flat, high, and dry C. densely populated D. relatively free of bacteria 35. Dinosaurs and ammonites became extinct at the end of the A. Jurassic B. Triassic C. Cretaceous D. Paleocene 36. Man s first ancestors appeared during the A. Oligocene B. Paleocene C. Pliocene D. Pleistocene 37. A form of autotrophic nutrition in certain bacteria which triggered the precipitation of iron and sulfur is A. photosynthesis B. osmosis C. chemosynthesis D. metabolism 38. All of the following are considered fossils except A. carbonized leaf B. insect in amber C. petrified wood D. concretions containing amethyst 39. The most common fossil in Proterozoic rocks is the A. calamite B. stromatolite C. stalagmite D. gastrolith 5
40. Multi-cellular organisms came into existence in large numbers after the development of A. internal fertilization B. aerobic respiration C. anaerobic respiration D. transpiration 41. What was responsible for the large salt deposits during the late Silurian time? A. Appearance of land plants. B. Uplift of the eastern coast. C. Evaporation of an inland sea. D. Extensive inundations. 42. The first time the earth s atmosphere had an oxygen level approximating today s 21% was probably during the A. Archeozoic B. Oligocene C. Recent D. Silurian 43. Carbon-14 dating would be most useful for dating A. Precambrian algal remains. B. wood from an archeological site. C. a Paleozoic igneous intrusion. D. Cambrian carbonates. 44. Which is the correct order for the changes in life that occurred during the Paleozoic era? A. amphibian, fish, invertebrate, reptile B. fish, reptile, invertebrate, amphibian C. invertebrate, fish, amphibian, reptile D. reptile, invertebrate, amphibian, fish 45. The type of fossil preservation which is most likely to preserve the original blood and DNA of an organism is A. carbonization. B. preservation in amber. C. permineralization. D. replacement by calcite. 46. The geological period when early humans; e.g., Australopithecus afarensis, first appeared in the fossil record was the A. Jurassic. C. Tertiary. B. Cretaceous. D. Quaternary. 47. The age of Earth is thought to be 4.6 billion years. However, the oldest rocks are dated at almost 4.0 billion years. The most likely reason for the different ages is that rocks older than 4.0 billion years A. have all been destroyed. B. never existed on the earth. C. have sunk to the center of the earth. D. are too old to date using current methods. 6
Use the fossil chart provided on the next page to answer questions 48 to 53. The chart shows the occurrence and time range of 9 different Paleozoic fossils. The arrows indicate the geological periods in which the fossil lived. 48. Two fossils which belong to phylum arthropoda are A. T and X B. S and V C. R and Z D. U and W 49. The fossil which indicates a land environment is A. S B. T C. V D. Y 50. The best guide (index) fossil for the Carboniferous period would be A. S B. T C. X D. Z 51. A fossil collection consisting of R, T and U was found in a rock layer. The likely age of the rock layer is A. Silurian. B. Devonian. C. Ordovician. D. Carboniferous. 52. The geological principle applied when a collection of fossils is used to determine the relative age of a rock layer is A. superposition. B. faunal succession. C. uniformitarianism. D. cross cutting relations. 53. From the data shown in the chart, the fossil most likely to be found in present-day oceans is A. S B. U C. X D. Z 7
This chart is to be used with questions 48 to 53. 8
Use the Geologic Time Scale and the Geologic Cross Section shown below to answer questions 54 to 58. 9
54. The fault (F) occurred A. after the Ordovician. B. between the Ordovician and the Silurian. C. between the Cambrian and the Ordovician. D. between the Precambrian and the Cambrian. 55. The age of unit Z is A. Silurian. B. Ordovician. C. Devonian. D. Carboniferous. 56. The process of matching rock layers across the river canyon using fossils is called A. relation. B. connection. C. correlation. D. extrapolation. 57. Intrusive rock X has been radiometrically dated and found to be 170 million years old. The most accurate estimate of the age of unit Y is A. 245-170 million years. B. 208-170 million years. C. older than 245 million years. D. younger than 170 million years. 58. The location where an unconformity exists is A. I B. II C. III D. IV This is the end of the multiple-choice section. Complete the following written response questions in the space provided. 10
Written Response Use the following sketch of a tooth, which has been buried in fine-grained sediment, to answer questions 1 and 2. 1. A fossil cast was formed from the original tooth. Describe what details of the internal structure of the tooth could be seen if the resulting fossil cast were sawn in half. (2 marks) 2. Referring directly to the specimen shown, what was the lifestyle of the organism from which it came? (2 marks) 11
3. Consider the following fossil collection below. (4 marks) a) Which fossil seems out of place with the others? b) Give two reasons for your conclusion. i) ii) c) What is the maximum time-span, in millions of years, represented by this collection? 4. Identify the unconformity in this section. Show how you determined your answer. (3 marks) Unconformity = 12